Starting a 10yr. old

[Gina]

I will be starting a newly 10 yr. old 4th grader next year. She is a strong reader and speller, has done lots of copywork and does well with dictation, but has had very little formal grammar(does well with basic punctuation).

Should I start her with Aesop A or B? And is it possible to combine her 7 yr. old brother? He reads and spells well for his age, but I don't like to overwhelm them early. But would like to combine them at some point, if possible.

I would like to add Analytical Grammar at some point, would this be in Homer? Thank you!

[Lene Mahler Jaqua]

I would start her in Aesop B, since she is a strong reader and speller. She will pick up the grammar fast enough.

UNLESS ... you're planning to bring in her 7 year old brother. If you plan to work them in together, do Aesop A with both and make sure to require less of the younger and more of the older.

Analytical Grammar we recommend bringing in when you work through Homer, however, if you, for example, are doing Aesop A with both kids, and your older kid is having an easy time, you may do Analytical Grammar at the same time to give her more of a challenge.

We start grammar in Homer, for the typical student, but you may start earlier if it is not overwhelming. It will not hurt her.

It's all a matter of finding the right balance of challenging your student while not overwhelming her. If Analytical Grammar turns out to be too much, slow it down or postpone it. No harm done if you were planning to buy the book anyways.

Lene

[Gina]

Thank you for the reply!

I love the idea of combining my kids, but do want to do what's best for both of them. Would you combine with a 3 yr. gap? My main concerns are:

1) Will my 4th grader miss out on something later by starting her in Aesop A and continuing on with my 1st grader?

2) Could my 1st grader get overwhelmed or will he be o.k. as long as I'm giving him less work? Will he miss some benefits of the program by starting him so young(he'll be newly 7).

Also, I haven't been able to download a sample of Aesop. Do you have a link? Thanks so much! Gina

[Carolyn]

You can see a preview of the book at Lulu. www.lulu.com/content/133050 has a small preview, plus two links that will take you to a larger preview.

I'll let Lene or Kathy address the other parts of your question.

Carolyn

[greengables]

Hi Gina,

I wouldn't be too worried about your 4th grader missing anything by you starting with Aesop A, since you will be able to adjust the pace if you need to in order to be ready to do Diogenes in middle school. And combining them will be convenient for you to start out. The difficulty with combining will come as your older student needs to advance more quickly and becomes ready for more challenging grammar, while your younger student just needs lots of practice in retelling narratives. Also, the material in Diogenes and above is really for middle school students who are beginning to think more abstractly.

Your son is definitely on the younger side to begin Aesop. You might consider the new Primer series for him (that's an announcement-watch the website for details coming very soon!). I prefer to see students have a very strong foundation in copywork and basic phonics and spelling, and be well established in reading before beginning Aesop. In our family, I tend to start them later, and move more quickly through Aesop.

If you really want to combine them, here's what I would suggest. Buy the Aesop A book for your son, and begin the two of them together in the fall. Let your daughter just do her work on other paper or on the computer. Probably at some point in the year, she will be ready to move more quickly, and you could order Aesop B for her at that point. You will have the advantage of working with them together as you become familiar with teaching, but you will have the flexibility to move your daughter up when she is ready.

I hope that helps!

Kathy

[Gina]

Thank you all for taking time to respond!

I'm pretty sure we'll start CW next year and now feel like I know where to start my oldest and will hold off with my youngest.

I appreciate the timely responses---the support here is a definate draw to the program!

Blessings,
Gina